Technique for effective organization and communication of information

ABSTRACT

In a communication arrangement in accordance with the invention, a server is employed to collect and organize information for mobile device users according to the user profiles, e.g., personal profile, business profile, vacation profile, etc., which reflect different user personae. By using this arrangement, the user advantageously maintains only the necessary information in the mobile device and downloads any additional information from the server on an as needed basis. In addition, the server is capable of serving mobile devices which may be incompatible to one another, thereby facilitating an exchange of information between such devices. Moreover, with the server, incoming messages for the user are organized and stored according to the source of the messages and the user criteria established in the user profiles. Further, information in a mobile device may be organized using electronic information cards, referred to as “E-cards,” which facilitate, among others, transfer of information from the mobile device to the server, or other mobile devices to conduct various commercial and data transactions.

This application claims the benefits under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/221,628 filed on Jul. 28, 2000; U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/224,448 filed on Aug. 10, 2000; and U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/226,825 filed on Aug. 22, 2000.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a communication system and method, and moreparticularly to a system and method for providing communication servicesto a user through a server.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Mobile devices such as personal communication systems (PCS) and personaldigital assistants (PDA) have been developed to provide access to theInternet and other network-type services. These devices incorporatewireless communications and modem facilities, enabling a user to sendand receive electronic mail (e-mail), or to upload and download datathrough the Internet. Similarly, wireless telephones have been adaptedto receive and display textual messages.

However, users of the mobile devices have ever-increasing demand forInternet access through a wireless communication network. In response,more and more wireless communication bandwidth is allocated to suchdevices to access multimedia (text, audio and/or video) data from theInternet. As wireless communication bandwidth and data transfer ratesincrease, the increase in the volume of data available to a mobiledevice quickly overwhelms the capacity of the mobile device. At the sametime, this flood of data also overwhelms a user as the user tries toeffectively utilize the data collected by the mobile device. Withoutproper organization and presentation of the collected data, useful andimportant data often goes unnoticed.

In addition, a user may use multiple mobile devices to conduct dailylife. Typically, each mobile device has its own database. It is oftendesirable that data collected in one database be replicated in otherdatabases especially when the collected data is useful and important tothe user. However, due to the incompatibility of the traditional mobiledevices, the data replication may only be accomplished by data reentryor re-visiting of information sources. Disadvantageously, the datare-entry is oftentimes labor intensive, and the re-visits are timeconsuming. Moreover, the user may not be able to recall the previousinformation sources from which the data was collected, and even if theuser is able to re-visit each of those information sources, the datathere may have been revised because of the time lag, thus frustratingthe data replication effort.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, a centralized communication facility,e.g., a server connected to one or more communication networks, isemployed to collect and organize information for a user of a mobiledevice. For each user, the server collects and organizes the informationbased on user profiles that reflect different user personae. Bycollecting and organizing information according to the user profiles inthe server, the operation of the mobile device is simplified. Inaddition, the amount of non-volatile memory required in the mobiledevice may be reduced, as most of the information is stored in theserver, instead. The mobile device obtains the necessary informationfrom the server on an as needed basis.

In addition, the server provides different protocol driver programs forvarious mobile devices for communications with the server. This beingso, the various incompatible mobile devices may share the sameinformation by efficiently downloading it from the server, therebyobviating the need of data re-entry or re-visits of information sourcesas in prior art. Specifically, during an initial handshake with theserver, the mobile device identifies itself to the server, which thendownloads the appropriate protocol driver program to the mobile devicefor its communications with the server.

In an illustrative embodiment, the aforementioned user profiles include,e.g., a personal profile and a business profile. A personal profilereflects the user's personal persona, which includes personalinformation such as medical and financial records. A business profilereflects a user's business persona, which includes the user's businessrelated information such as the names of contacts with whom the userdoes business. A user may also establish alternative profiles thatreflect other user personae, e.g., vacation or travel profiles. Thesealternative profiles may include information that reflects a user'svacation or travel preferences, e.g., names and addresses of hotels,restaurants, airlines or airline schedules. This information may also becategorized by location, or by type of entertainment, e.g., theaters,cinemas, etc.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the server mayobtain, e.g., by searching a network of libraries, information itemsconcerning the location of, and directions to, selected businesses orservices. The information items may be presented in textual and/orgraphic format. The graphic format may include indications of thelocations of the selected businesses or services on navigation maps,which are downloaded for display onto the mobile device. The displayedbusiness or service information items may be selected based on a userprofile. Thus, the information items may include the names and locationsof restaurants, gas stations, places of interest, scenic viewing areas,etc.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the server maybe used to organize incoming messages to the user based on the source ofthe messages and user criteria pre-established in the user profiles. Forexample, the server may selectively perform message storage or callforwarding when the user is not available. In a message storage mode,messages may be identified by their source and stored according to theuser specified criteria. The server may then provide differentnotifications to the user depending upon the source of the messages. Ina call forwarding mode, calls originating from a party designated in apersonal profile may be directed to a personal message storage area.

In accordance with still yet another aspect of the invention, electronicinformation cards, referred to as “E-cards,” may be used to organizedata in the mobile device and to exchange selected data between theserver and the mobile device. E-cards may contain information fromselected user profiles. For example, a personal E-card may containinformation items related to financial records, such as credit cardnumbers, bank accounts and balances from the user personal profile. Abusiness E-card may contain information items from the user businessprofile which are related to business. With the E-card arrangement,selective user information can be distributed among different recipientsin an efficient manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further aspects, features and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings showing illustrative embodiments of theinvention, in which;

FIG. 1 illustrates an arrangement in accordance with the invention wherea centralized communication server is used to help handle thecommunication needs of a mobile device user;

FIG. 2 illustrates an arrangement for transferring information itemsbetween a first mobile device user and a second mobile device user inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary functions performed by the server of FIG.1;

FIG. 4 illustrates profiles of the mobile device user stored in a memoryin the server of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 illustrates contents of the memory in the server of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 illustrates a sequence of events after a mobile device is turnedon to communicate with the server of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 illustrates a database of a library server in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a directory page containing categories of registeredbusinesses in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary display of a registered business;

FIG. 10 illustrates a display containing navigation information inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart depicting the processing of e-mail messages tothe user in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 12 illustrates a dropped-down menu administered by an event managerin the mobile device in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates a personal communication device (PCD) which is amobile device in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 14 illustrates a display of selectable options on the PCD of FIG.13;

FIGS. 15A-15F jointly illustrate a personal electronic information card(E-card) in accordance with the invention;

FIGS. 16A-16C jointly illustrate a business E-card in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 17A illustrates an arrangement for conducting a credit cardtransaction using the PCD of FIG. 13;

FIG. 17B illustrates a display of records of credit card transactions onthe PCD of FIG. 13;

FIG. 18 illustrates a functional schematic of the PCD of FIG. 13;

FIG. 19 illustrates a display arrangement of the PCD of FIG. 13;

FIG. 20 illustrates an E-card for access to a vehicle;

FIG. 21 is a flow chart depicting the process whereby a driver isafforded access to the vehicle based on the information on the E-card ofFIG. 20; and

FIG. 22 illustrates an arrangement whereby car-mail in accordance withthe invention is communicated to and from a vehicle through acommunications network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an arrangement embodying the principles of theinvention, where server 105 is employed to collect and organizeinformation for users of mobile devices. Advantageously, with theinventive arrangement, the burden of a mobile device in maintaining vastquantities of information is mostly shifted onto server 105 and is thussubstantially reduced. In addition, the user information in server 105may be distributed to different mobile devices upon the user's request,thereby facilitating sharing of the same information among the devices.

In FIG. 1, server 105 includes processor 107, memory 109 and interfaces112 and 128. Interface 112, including modem facilities, is used toconnect server 105 to a communication network, such as Internet 170.Through processor 107, server 105 may communicate with other serversconnected to Internet 170. For example, server 105 may request libraryservers to search for particular information items. Memory 109 is usedto store data collected for the users served by server 105. Theorganization of memory 109 is fully disclosed below.

As would be appreciated, the processing functions of processor 107 arenot limited to functions solely thereon, but may be distributed amongother processors connected to processor 107. Similarly, memory 109 mayalso be distributed among other memories and need not be in physicalproximity to processor 107.

Through interface 128, server 105 may communicate with mobile devicesthrough wireless communication network 110. These mobile devices includepersonal communication devices (PCDs) 120 and 130 which are fullydescribed below. It suffices to know for now that the PCD, like aconventional PALM PDA, includes a user interface, touch-screen displayand wireless communication capability. PCDs 120 and 130 may alsocommunicate with each other independent of network 110 using the wellknown Bluetooth technology. The Bluetooth technology was developed tounify the electronics world to allow a variety of cellular phones, PDAsand computers to communicate with one another over short distances in awireless manner. Each PCD also includes a well known GPS device (notshown) for utilizing signals from a well known global positioning system(GPS) for determining the position of the PCD.

For example, a PCD user may want to visit a fast-food restaurant, e.g.,a McDonald's, in the surrounding area, but does not know where one islocated. The user may then through PCD 120 enter a request to server 105to locate the McDonald's in the local area. The location of PCD 120 isdetermined by the aforementioned GPS device therein. Such locationinformation is provided to server 105, along with the search requestincluding search criteria. Server 105 may then search its own librariesand/or other library servers connected to Internet 170. The searchresults are then sorted and filtered by processor 107 before they aretransmitted to PCD 120 via network 110. The search results may includethe address, telephone number and directions to each restaurant within aspecified distance from the user, for example. The user may also expandor refine the search criteria to determine additional information itemsor restrict the amount of information items received. The user mayfurther request server 105 to record the search results for futurereference. Thus, the information items once obtained may be retained inserver 105 for future use, or for distribution to other devices to sharethe information items.

In FIG. 2 server 192, similar to server 105, serves the user of PCD 130,although it would be appreciated that server 105 may provide service formultiple users including the user of PCD 130. Nevertheless, in thisexample, server 192 is the server for the user of PCD 130, and the userof PCD 120 may want to share information items, stored in server 105 forhim/her, with the user of PCD 130. To that end, the user of PCD 120 mayissue a request through network 110 to server 105 for forwarding a copyof the selected information items to server 192 for the user of PCD 130.After server 192 receives the information items from server 105 throughInternet 170, server 192 then sends a signal, notifying PCD 130 of thereceipt of the items. Upon receiving the notification, the user of PCD130 may request server 192 to download the received information itemsthereto immediately or at a later time. Advantageously, the transfer ofinformation items between the users does not interfere with their use ofPCDs 120 and 130. That is, the users may freely utilize the respectivePCDs during the information item transfer which involves servers 105 and192 only.

FIG. 3 illustrates some exemplary functions performed by processor 107in server 105, which include function 305 tracking a list of activemobile devices served by server 105, e-mail directory function 308,search function 311, navigation function 314, maps function 317, trafficfunction 321, weather function 324 and directory listings function 327.Specifically, function 305 includes compiling and updating a list ofmobile devices currently in communication with server 105. Function 308includes processing, distributing and maintaining e-mail communicationfor each user served by server 105. Function 311 includes searchinglibrary databases for specified information items. Function 314 includesplanning and providing a route between a given source and destinationpoint. Function 317 includes searching databases for maps givendesignated locations. Function 321 includes obtaining and evaluatingtraffic information items given designated locations. Function 324includes obtaining and evaluating weather information items givendesignated locations. Function 327 includes processing information itemsfor listing in different directories.

With the above functions, for example, server 105 may be used to plan aroute from a source location to a destination location, which includescurrent traffic and weather conditions on the route. The user mayutilize PCD 120 to request server 105 to plan such a route. To that end,server 105 obtains source and destination locations from the userthrough navigation function 314, accesses maps through maps function317, and extracts information items that are used in formulating theroute. The resulting route and navigation instructions may be displayedon PCD 120, which include specific turn-by-turn directions and mileageindications. The resulting route may be based on the mode oftransportation, e.g., use of a car or public transportation, walking orbiking. Thus, the route is determined depending on such factors asweight restrictions on roads and bridges, the limitations of publictransportation, the presence, or lack of, sidewalks, or bicycle paths.The route determination may also take into account roadblocksartificially instituted by the user to avoid certain areas such as anarea having a high crime rate. In addition, current traffic and weatherconditions may be considered in the route determination by using trafficfunction 321 and weather function 324, respectively.

FIG. 4 illustrates use of part of memory space of memory 109 in server105. In this embodiment, the memory space is divided into partitionsdesignated to different users, respectively. Each partition includesuser profiles concerning different personae of the user associated withthe partition. Information items for the user are stored in memory 109according to the user profiles. For example, information items relevantto the personal aspect of the user may be collected and organized in apersonal profile. These information items may include contactinformation of people known socially to the user, or the names of placesthat are of interest to the user. On the other hand, information itemsrelevant to the business aspect of the user may be collected andorganized in a business profile. These information items may includebusiness contact information of clients, vendors, sales personnel,customer service personnel, and contractors; and information concerningrestaurants and establishments for entertaining clients, businesspractices, etc.

Still other profiles can be established to reflect the user's personaewith regard to vacationing, travelling or hobbies, e.g., golf andtennis. In the vacation profile, for example, server 105 may recordinformation items regarding restaurants, hotels and areas of interest atdesignated vacation areas that the user has visited or intends to visit.

Each profile may be further categorized to organize the information in amanner that facilitates the presentation of the collected information.For example, a profile may include categories for restaurants, hotels,and gas stations. These categories may be further categorized into,e.g., restaurant types. As would be appreciated, the categories of eachprofile may be specified by the user and can be selected differently foreach user profile.

As shown in FIG. 4, exemplary profiles are created and stored in memory109 for a user. These profiles include the user's personal profile 210,business profile 220 and vacation profile 240. Although illustrated asdisjoint memory areas, it would be appreciated that the storedinformation items in each profile may be sequentially stored in memory109 and may be tagged appropriately to indicate the placement of aninformation item in a particular profile.

In this illustrated example, personal profile 210 includes files such asaddress book 211, medical records 212, financial records 213, inventory214, dining 215, current events 215 and storage 217. Address book 211may include information items such as names, addresses, e-mailaddresses, and telephone numbers of persons who are the user's relativesand friends. Medical records 212 may include information items such asthe user's current medical records, current medication and medicationsthat should be avoided. Medical records 212 may also include informationitems concerning persons whom should be contacted in case of anemergency, e.g., doctor, hospital, family members, etc. Financialrecords 213 may include information items such as the user's credit cardnumbers, banking account numbers and balances, names and quantity ofstocks and bonds and purchase price, and retirement account information.Inventory 214 may include information items such as serial numbers orwarranty information or replacement costs on the user's video cameras,digital cameras, lap top computers, television sets, etc. Thisinformation may be useful if a device is lost or stolen. Dining 215 mayinclude information items such as contact information of restaurants forpersonal dining. This file may further be divided into types ofrestaurants such as luxury or fast food. Current events 216 may includeinformation items such as new items from different news sources whichare of interest to the user. For example, news items may be fromdifferent newspapers or sources and may be further divided into type ofnews, such as sports, stocks, front page, etc. Storage 217 may includepersonal messages left by those attempting to contact the user. Messagesmay be left in textual, audio, and/or video format.

Business profile 220, similar to personal profile 210, includes filessuch as address book 221, dining 222, current events 223, hotels, 224,airlines, 226, calendar 226 and storage 227. Address book 221, dining222 and current events 223 are similar to those described in regard topersonal profile 210. Address book 221 may include information items forcontacting business associates, contractors, vendors, suppliers, etc.Similarly, dining 222 may include information items concerningrestaurants for business dining. Current events 223 include businessrelated news items. For example, attorneys may collect articles from lawjournals, and doctors may collect articles from medical journals in thisfile. Hotels 224 and airlines 225 may include contact information forarranging business-related hotels, airlines and auto rentals. Further,information items concerning corporate rates of hotels, airlines andauto rentals may be included in these files as well. Also included maybe user business identification numbers, e.g., frequent flyer numbersand priority club numbers. Calendar 226 includes information items suchas meetings, appointments, delivery dates, etc. Similar to storage 217,storage 227 includes business-related messages in text, audio and/orvideo format left for the user.

Vacation profile 240 includes files such as address book 241, dining242, hotels 243, airlines 244 and storage 245 which pertain to vacationsor leisure travel, but are otherwise similar to those described inregard to personal profile 210 and business profile 220. For example,address book 241 contains information items concerning travel agents,and contacts at vacation locations; dining 242 contains informationitems concerning restaurants at the vacation locations; hotels 243contains information items concerning hotels at the vacation locations;airlines 244 contains information items concerning airlines and/or autorentals for traveling to the vacation locations; and storage 245contains messages to the user concerning vacations and leisure travel.Thus, with the vacation profile, information items that were obtainedabout a vacation location, which may be a long time ago, can be easilyrecalled.

FIG. 5 illustrates the partitioning of the memory space of memory 109 tocontain the profiles of a plurality of users. In this illustrativeexample, profiles 210, 220 and 240 are associated with a first user;profiles 250, 260 and 270 are associated with a second user; profiles290, 295 and 296 are associated with a third user; and so on and soforth.

Further illustrated in memory 109 is utility file 135. File 135represents a library of protocol driver programs for known mobiledevices. These driver programs when run on the mobile devices enable themobile devices to communicate messages with server 105 in a moreefficient format. In an initial handshake with server 105, a mobiledevice identifies itself to server 105 pursuant to a common, wirelessmessaging protocol which may be inefficient. After the handshake, server105 selects from file 135 the latest protocol driver program for thatparticular mobile device and downloads same to the mobile device. Thelatter then runs the downloaded driver program, enabling the mobiledevice to efficiently communicate with server 105 pursuant to theprotocol specified by the driver program. Using file 135 to maintain alibrary of driver programs is advantageous in that information items canbe freely shared among mobile devices which may be incompatible with oneanother. For example, if a user wants to share certain information itemsin a first mobile device with a second incompatible mobile device, theuser can simply use the second device to communicate with server 105 tohave the same information items downloaded from server 105 to the seconddevice. The download is efficient through use of the appropriateprotocol driver program provided by server 105, without requiring anyspecial, initial installation on the part of the second device.

FIG. 6 illustrates a sequence of events when a mobile device, e.g., PCD120 in this instance, communicates with server 105 after PCD 120 isturned on. Specifically, on initial power up, PCD 120 sends at a basicrate an identification (ID) message in a common wireless messagingformat, which identifies its mobile device type and model to server 105,as indicated at step 340. Server 105 processes the received ID message,and searches file 135 for the latest protocol driver programcorresponding to the identified PCD 120, as indicated at step 343.Server 105 at step 346 downloads the latest driver program to PCD 120.At step 349 PCD 120 re-configures its input/output (I/O) interface inaccordance with the driver program. PCD 120 then notifies server 105 ofthe completion of its re-configuration, as indicated at step 352. Suchnotification is sent to server 105 in the format and at the ratepursuant to the new protocol specified by the driver program. Uponreceiving such a notification, server 105 is ready to communicate withPCD 120 using the new protocol.

As mentioned before, server 105 may search other library serversconnected to Internet 170 for relevant information items. One suchlibrary server, denoted 140, is shown in FIG. 7. In this instance, thedatabase in server 140 is organized and presented in multiple levelsidentified by top-level domains (TLD) in accordance with the InternetDomain Name System (DNS). For example, information items in such adatabase are organized in the “dot org,” “dot net,” and “dot com”domains. It would be appreciated that as the number of TLD namesincreases, the data organization in server 140 can be easily expanded toinclude the added TLD names.

In this illustrative embodiment, the “dot net” domain, e.g.,Xyellowpages.net 145, includes links to the sites of a network ofregistered businesses. The site of each registered business, e.g.,Gary's Shoes site 172, is listed under Xyellowpages.net 145 and can beaccessed via a hyperlink.

To provide ease of finding related businesses and Internet sites,Xyellowpages.org 165 collates registered business sites into categories.The categories may include, e.g., entertainment, financial services,medical services, recreation, travel, etc. FIG. 8 illustrates anexemplary page listing business categories under Xyellowpage.org 165that may be displayed on PCD 120. In this illustrative example,Xyellowpage.org groups related business information into specifiedfunctional categories. For example, Automotive category 365 includes allbusinesses related to automotive products; Food, Gas & Beveragescategory 370 includes all businesses related to food, gas and beverages;and Recreation category 380 includes all registered businesses relatedto recreation. As would be appreciated, businesses listed onxyellowpages.org 165 may be included in more than one category.

Further illustrated are icons keys for exemplary functions of weather385, traffic 390 and maps 395. These keys enable the user to directlyaccess these functions to obtain current weather and traffic conditionsand maps. These keys direct server 105 to retrieve the correspondinginformation and present it to the user.

Referring back to FIG. 7, the “dot com” domain, e.g., Xyellowpages.com150, includes a collection of pages describing any businesses having aTLD as the “dot com.”

FIG. 9 illustrates a site advertising a selected registered business,e.g., Gary's Shoes site 172, which may be accessed from Xyellowpages.org165 under the category “Shoes.” It should be noted that this site mayalso be accessed via a hyperlink under Xyellowpages.net 141 as mentionedbefore. As shown in FIG. 9, site 172 includes contact information forthe Gary's Shoes business. In addition, site 172 may contain hyperlinksfor accessing more detailed information concerning the business. In thisexample, other businesses registered under the “Shoes” category may bequickly accessed by clicking the Next Ad arrow 398 or Previous Ad arrow399. Advantageously, using arrow 398 and arrow 399, a user need notreturn to the page of FIG. 8 to access information items of otherbusinesses within the “Shoes” category as would be in prior art wherethe “drill down” approach is embraced.

Thus, through server 105, a user may collect information items that havebeen learned or acquired, which may be needed in the future. Even moredetailed knowledge of an acquired information item may be obtained byserver 105 accessing searchable libraries. Thus, once an informationitem is learned or acquired, a user may retrieve not only the originalinformation item, but also additional information concerning theoriginal information item. The retrieved information items may be storedin one or more user profiles.

For example, a user may want to locate a particular business or servicebecause there is a preference for the desired type of business orservice or there may be a pre-arranged account with the desired businessor service. The name of the desired business or service can be enteredor retrieved from the stored information and a library search can beinitiated to learn the locations of the desired business or service in ageneral area. When the locations of the desired businesses or servicesare known, then the distance, and direction, from the current locationto the desired stations can be determined. Hence, the user profilesconcerning selected information item are increased and the knowledgelearned is used to confidently plan a route to a desired business whilebypassing other undesired business that provide the same goods orservices. The results of the searched libraries may also be stored intoone or more selective user profiles.

For example, a user may use PCD 120 to request server 105 to provideinformation items concerning the location of service facilities, e.g.,gas stations, within a given area while the user is in business. Inresponse, server 105 searches libraries of registered businesses, e.g.,Xyellowpages.org 165, other libraries connected to Internet 170, and theuser business profile, e.g., business profile 220, for the gas stations.FIG. 10 illustrates the results of such a search which are presented tothe user on the touch-screen display of PCD 120. The search resultswhich are numerically indexed in column 1000 are sorted by distance fromthe user's current position. Such a current position may be determinedusing the aforementioned GPS device in PCD 120 and communicated toserver 105 as part of the search request. It would be appreciated thatthe list may be sorted on other parameters such as status or direction,etc. by touching the corresponding header identifier on the screenusing, say, a stylus. For example, when the header identifier STATUS isselected, the gas stations with the “open” status may be displayed aheadof the stations with the “closed” status.

As shown in FIG. 10, the directions, statuses, names and addresses, andtelephone numbers of the selected gas stations are listed in columns1035, 1040, 1045 and 1050, respectively. Indicators 1020 are alsodisplayed, indicating those gas stations which also satisfy the userbusiness profile in this instance. Arrows 1030 and 1010 indicate thatthere are non-viewable listed information items and these arrows allowthe user to scroll the displayed list to display the non-viewableinformation items. The user, having information on the distance,direction and status of the gas stations, may confidently plan the routeto the selected station.

In an alternative embodiment, based on the table of FIG. 10, server 105provides a map on the display of PCD 120, with indications of the listedgas stations and the current route that the user is traversing, and mayalso suggest a route to any such gas station selected by the user, whichentails minimal diversion from the user's current route.

In another alternative embodiment, server 105 may further determine thestatus of a selected gas station based on the estimated time of arrivalat the selected gas station. The estimated time of arrival may bedetermined based on the user's current route, speed and position. Inthis embodiment, server 105 may determine that the gas station the userhas selected based on current information may no longer be open at thetime of arrival. Server 105 may warn the user of this change in status.

In yet another alternative embodiment, server 105 may track the positionof the user and dynamically update traffic and weather conditions. Inthis embodiment, as a user traverses a route, server 105 may warn theuser of changes in traffic patterns and weather conditions.

It should be noted at this point that the user may provide to server 105the names of facilities, such as restaurants, gas stations, shoppingmalls, department stores, etc., which are encountered or observed alonga route. Server 105 may then correlate the user entered informationitems with at least one list of restaurants, gas stations, servicefacilities, etc., to determine more specific information on the userentered information item. The more specific information on the enteredrestaurant, gas station, shopping mall or department store may then becollected and collated into an elected user profile.

The user may also save the sources of information items of interestusing bookmarks for repeatedly accessing such sources. Server 105 mayrecord where, and in which files, information may be found withinsearched libraries. For example, universal resource locators (URLs) foraccessing web pages may be bookmarked under a selected user profile. Theuser may then recall information collected without re-entering theaddress sequence.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, server 105 alsoprovides a central location for messages that are received ortransmitted by a user. Messages such as e-mail messages and audiomessages received by a user may be stored on server 105 to simplify themessage retrieval process. For example, centralization of e-mailmessages is advantageous as it simplifies the management of e-mailmessages of multiple Internet service provider (ISP) sites with whichthe user is registered. As can be appreciated, a user may have multiplee-mail addresses because the user may have personal e-mail addresseswith one or more ISPs at a home location and an additional e-mailaddress with at least one ISP at a work or a business location. Further,many Internet services provide free e-mail service simply by registeringfor their service. These Internet services use their own e-mail addressto provide updates to news or chat groups the user has expressed aninterest. Hence, the user must access each ISP or Internet serviceindependently to retrieve e-mail messages. When an ISP requiresproprietary software to access the ISP or to process e-mail message, theuser's retrieval of e-mail messages is limited to those times when theuser is logged onto the mail server managed by the ISP. The traditionalway of retrieving e-mail messages by accessing mail servers of differentISPs and Internet services is both time-consuming and cumbersome.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, server 105centralizes the e-mail retrieval process. Each ISP or Internet servicereceiving e-mail messages addressed to the user forwards the receivede-mail message to a single e-mail address assigned to the user by server105. Server 105 upon receiving a forwarded e-mail message stores themessage according to a message source identifier and criteriaestablished by the user. Server 105, after storing the message, providesa notification of the received message to the user. The user may thenselectively view e-mail messages from multiple ISP sources withoutaccessing each ISP or Internet service mail server. Furthermore, server105 stores the received e-mail messages according to the user profiles.Thus, messages related to vacation resorts are stored in the uservacation profile, and message related to business are stored in the userbusiness profile. The vacation e-mail messages may be read at leisurewhile the business e-mail messages may be read immediately. Thus, bycentralizing the e-mail retrieval process in server 105, the receivede-mail messages can be pre-sorted and organized in accordance with theuser's selection criteria.

As is well known, an e-mail message typically includes a sourceidentifier indicating the source of the e-mail message. A sourceidentifier may include an e-mail address of the sender. A user may alsoprovide a keyword to social contacts and other keywords to businesscontacts for incorporation in the “Subject” portion of an e-mailmessage. Such keywords may be used in combination of the sourceidentification tags for prioritizing the messages received.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow chart depicting the processing by processor107 of e-mail messages to the user forwarded by ISPs and Internetservices to server 105. At step 736, processor 107 reads the sourceidentifier of a received e-mail message which includes the e-mailaddress of the sender. Processor 107 at step 739 compares the sender'se-mail address with each e-mail address item in the address book of eachof the user profiles, and at step 741 determines whether the comparisonresults in any match. If the sender's e-mail address does not match anyaddress book item of any of the user's profiles, the subject message maybe regarded as an unsolicited message and processor 107 at step 742stores it in a storage area associated with unknown sources.

In this instance, the user provides keywords (not shown) in each profilefor prioritizing the received messages having known sources. Eachkeyword is accorded a different priority. The e-mail message sender mayinclude one of the keywords, given to him/her by the user earlier, inthe “Subject” portion of the message. Thus, in this instance, if thee-mail address of the sender of the subject e-mail matches an item inthe address book of a user profile (e.g., business profile 210),processor 107 checks the “Subject” portion of the message for anykeyword provided in that user profile, as indicated at step 745.Processor 107 at step 748 stores the message in such a user profile(e.g., in storage 227 in profile 210) according to the priority accordedto any keyword found. The received e-mail messages in a profile areorganized with messages having a higher priority are presented first.Apparently, a received message having no keyword in its “Subject” ispresented after the ones having a keyword therein.

Processor 107 concludes the e-mail message processing by notifying theuser of the receipt of the message, with the identity of the associatedprofile and priority. Through, say, PCD 120 the user, upon receiving thenotification, may elect to read the message immediately or at a latertime. Further, the form of notification may be based on the priority ofthe message. For example, the notification of any received message ofthe highest priority is immediate with a description of the messageshown on the screen of PCD 120. Such a notification may interrupt anyon-going communications being conducted by PCD 120. The notification ofa less important message may cause PCD 120 to turn on an audible alarmor a message light.

It should be noted that the above-described technique for processinge-mail messages may similarly be applied to the processing of any typesof message, including voice messages where, for example, PCD 120 isunavailable to accept a telephone call. In that case, the call isforwarded, through a call-forwarding pre-arrangement, to server 105where processor 107 requests the caller to leave a voice message. Thesource of any such voice message may be identified by a caller IDindicating, among others, the caller's telephone number. In addition,the caller may utter a keyword in the beginning of the voice messageindicating its priority, thereby facilitating the search by processor107 for the keyword in sorting messages.

To help present on PCD 120 information items downloaded from server 105,an event manager is used in PCD 120. The event manager enables a user toselectively receive and sort requested or transmitted information items,and it organizes such information items in categories selectable throughuse of drop-down menus. FIG. 12 illustrates one such drop-down menu(denoted 800) which is displayed on PCD 120 for user selection. As wouldbe appreciated, the categories in menu 800 may be pre-set or created bythe user, which may relate to the files of the user profiles in server105. It should be noted that the contents of the personal profile aremost likely different than the contents of the business profile, evenwhen they have identically-named files therein. For example, CurrentEvents file 223 of business profile 220 contains business-related newsitems while Current Events file 216 of personal profile 210 containsgeneral news items. Thus, in this instance a selection of News category823 in menu 800 affords further user selections of business-related newsand general news sub-categories.

FIG. 13 illustrates PCD 120 which includes keypad 405, display screen410, microphone 425, speaker 420, scroll keys 436, and entry keys 437and 450. Further illustrated are dedicated functional keys, labeledpictorially with an “i” 430, a “cross” 435, a facial profile 440 andcircular arrows 445. These keys are descriptive which represent Help,Emergency, Voice on/off and Repeat functions, respectively. Thesededicated keys may be physical buttons that engage electrical contactswhen depressed. Alternatively, they may be displayed icons or “soft”keys selectable by touching them on screen 410.

Keypad 405 allows a user to enter alphanumeric characters to enter dataor respond to requests. Display screen 410 is used to display textualand graphic information and operates to allow data entry or processselection. Display 410 may allow data entry or process selection byusing the illustrated drop down menu 465, for example, or by theselection of icons (not shown), which are representative of a processingfunction or category, or by writing, or printing, alpha-numericcharacters on the display face (not shown). Microphone 425 and speaker420 are used to transmit and receive audio information, such as speechor music. Process selection may also be performed by issuing a verbalcommand entered through microphone 425.

Scroll keys 436 are used to scroll through a list of information items,such as the illustrated functional categories in pull-down menu 465. Aselected information item may then be activated, to perform a process,or to be viewed, by depressing left key 450, for example. In thisinstance, electronic information card (E-card) category 480 is selected(indicated by dashed-line enclosure) in drop-down menu 465. Informationitems associated with E-card category 480 may then be viewed bydepressing left entry key 450, which are described below. Informationitems associated with a category may also be selected by touching thecategory on screen 410 using a pointing device. A pointing device may bea pencil, a pen, a stylus or an infrared, or visible light, laserpointer. Further still, the information items of a selected category mayalso be viewed by maintaining contact with a displayed icon, or word,that represents the category, for an extended time, or by double-tappingthe displayed icon, or word, within a finite time. The selection ofcategories may also be performed by verbally reciting the category nameinto microphone 425 and the information items within the selectedcategory may also be viewed by verbally reciting the information itemname.

FIG. 13 further illustrates right entry button 437, which may be pressedto view properties of a category selected. For example, the propertiesmay provide data concerning the number of information items in acategory, the number of unread information items in the category, orwhen the last information item was added to the category, etc.

Help key 430 allows access to information concerning quick startingprocedures, e.g., an owner's manual, a how-to video demonstration, and avoice script that is used to operate telephone aspects of PCD 120. Thesehelp tips provide sufficient information for the user to operate thedevice. This information provides just enough information, i.e.,just-in-time-learning, to enable the user to operate the device.Emergency key 435 provides access to emergency numbers and informationthat can transmitted to a parties named in an emergency file in apersonal profile. The emergency file may be included in medical records215 of personal profile 210 illustrated in FIG. 4. Activation ofEmergency key 435 causes server 105 to contact the named emergencycontact people. Further, medical records information items such asmedical history, current medication history, and medications to beavoided may also be transmitted. Voice on/off key 440 provides the userwith the capability to mute messages that may be audibly expressed byPCD 120. This muting function is useful to prevent audio messages frominterfering with a conversation that is in progress. Repeat key 445provides the user with the capability of repeating previous messages oractions that were performed.

Digital camera 460 is also included in PCD 120. Camera 460 is capable ofcapturing an image that can then be stored locally or transmitted toserver 105 for storage in a selected user profile, e.g., vacationprofile, or for transmission over Internet 170 to another party. Camera460 may also transmit digital images synchronized with audio data toprovide real-time audio/visual data or may transmit audio datasequentially with digital images. Images from camera 460 may further beintegrated with additional information items, such as real-time clock orGPS time/positional data to provide time/location tagging of an image.Such time/position tagging may be used to authenticate the image.

Continuing the above example, once E-card category 480 is selected, PCD120 displays on screen 410 further options for selection. FIG. 14illustrates such options. In this instance, information items associatedwith category 480 are divided into personal and business sub-categories,which correspond to personal and business profiles in server 105. Asshown in FIG. 14, included under the personal sub-category is option406, entitled “John Doe,” the name of the user in this instance. Inaddition, included under the business sub-category are options 407, 408and 409, entitled “Ford Dealership,” “GM Dealership” and “MercedesDealership,” respectively.

In this example, the user selects John Doe option 406. In response, PCD120 displays on screen 410 information item 500 which represents apersonal E-card of John Doe. FIG. 15A illustrates such a display screenincluding E-card 500. This E-card contains textual, audio and/or graphicinformation items pertaining to John Doe, which are sorted and organizedin tabbed records. Illustratively, these tabbed records include Name510, Numbers 520, Attachments 530, Credit Card 540, Signature 550 andBusiness Card 560. E-card 500 is shown by default with Name record 510superimposed on other records. However, the tabs for these other recordsare displayed for selection. As shown in FIG. 15A, Name record 510contains identification information concerning the user, including apicture or logo identifying the user.

Further illustrated in FIG. 15A are Delete key 505, Edit key 506 andCancel key 507. Delete key 505 allows the user to delete informationitems in E-card 500 from the user profile in server 105. Edit key 506enables the user to edit selected entries in E-card 500. Cancel key 507allows the user to end the viewing of E-card 500.

FIG. 15B illustrates Numbers record 520 containing contact informationconcerning the user. As shown in FIG. 15B, record 520 includes theuser's telephone numbers for home (hm) and business, e-mail address, PCDaddress, etc. In addition, information items in record 520 may beselected for transmission to another party. For example, by checkingboxes 516, 517, 518 and 519, the user may transmit the correspondinginformation items by selecting icon 503 in FIG. 15A which represents asend key in this instance. The receiving party would then receive theuser's home, cellular, pager and PCD numbers. The format of the receivedinformation items would correspond to a comparable E-card format on thereceiving party's PCD. Hence, the receiving party is relieved of theburden of re-entering the received information items into a differentdevice or organization structure. Similarly, the user may select some orall the items on each E-card record for transmission to another party.

FIG. 15C illustrates Attachments record 530 having displayed iconstherein which represent information items. Record 530 may include, e.g.,textual instructions and graphic images of directions from a sourcelocation to a destination or may include notes for personal use.Information items in record 530 may be transmitted to another party byselecting the corresponding displayed icons, followed by selection oficon 503 to send the information item. As would be appreciated, a usermay select information items on each record of E-card 500 and transmitall of the selected information items using a single selection or clickof icon 503.

FIG. 15D illustrates Credit Card record 540 containing the user's creditcard information. Using a E-card to record the user credit cardinformation is advantageous as it allows the user to electronically payfor purchases without revealing important personal financial data suchas the credit card number at the point of sale. The methodology ofconducting a secure transaction using record 540 is fully describedbelow. E-card 500 may further record the transaction date and amount andthe merchant's name after the transaction is conducted. This recordationof the purchase is advantageous in tracking and reconciling expenseseach month.

FIG. 15E illustrates Signature record 550 containing the user's digitalsignature, which may be used to digitally commit the user to contractualobligations. That is, the user's digital signature may be transmitted toa receiving party to obligate the user to terms and conditions of acontract to buy a car, a house, etc.

FIG. 15F illustrates Business Card record 560 including informationitems such as the user's business name, address, phone number, title,etc. which, like other information items, are transmissible to otherparties.

FIG. 16A illustrates business E-card 600 concerning a Mercedesdealership. Similar to information items in E-card 500, informationitems in E-card 600 are sorted and organized tabbed records. As shown inFIG. 16A, these records include Name 610, Numbers 620, and Attachment630. Name record 610 includes identification information concerning theMercedes dealership, including the Mercedes logo.

FIG. 16B illustrates Numbers record 620 providing contact informationconcerning the Mercedes dealership.

FIG. 16C illustrates Attachments record 630 including such attachmentsas video file 633 promoting the Mercedes dealership, and text andgraphics file 635 describing the latest models of Mercedes vehicles.

The methodology of conducting a transaction using Credit Card record 540will now be described. For example, referring to FIG. 17A, the user inthis instance wants to pay by credit card for a purchase atpoint-of-sale (POS) terminal 710. The user uses PCD 120 to access CreditCard record 540. By selecting icon 503, a signal containing theinformation in record 540 is transmitted over wireless communicationsnetwork 110 to server 105. In return, processor 107 in server 105elicits from the user his/her personal identification number (PIN) toverify that he/she is the authorized credit card user. In addition,processor 107 elicits from the user the purchase amount, and atransaction identification (ID) number which is provided by POS terminal710. Such a transaction ID number identifies, among others, POS terminal710, the merchant (e.g., Gary's Shoes) and the purchase type (e.g., shoepurchase). Upon receiving the PIN, purchase amount and transaction IDnumber from PCD 120, processor 107 compares the received PIN with thePIN which is provided earlier by the user in a service registration andstored in personal profile 210. If the received PIN matches the storedPIN, processor 107 causes server 105 to transmit through a secure linkover Internet 170 to payment authority system 700 a request forauthorization of payment. Such a request includes the received creditcard information, purchase amount and transaction ID number. Paymentauthority system 700 then processes the request. Based on thetransaction ID number which, in part, identifies POS terminal 710,system 700 transmits to POS terminal 710 a message confirming or denyingthe payment of the purchase amount. At the same time, system 700transmits a second message to server 105 for the user record. Thissecond message indicates the payment confirmation or denial, and maycontain information concerning date and time of the payment confirmationor denial, the purchase amount involved, and the identity of themerchant and purchase type derived by system 700 from the transaction IDnumber. Upon receiving such a second message, if the payment isconfirmed, processor 107 stores a purchase confirmation record inpersonal profile 210. Otherwise, if the payment is denied, processor 107stores a purchase denial record in profile 210. The user is informed ofthe payment confirmation or denial by the POS terminal 710, or bypolling server 105 through PCD 120.

It should be noted that the above-described methodology is not limitedto use of a PIN to verify the identity of the user. Other securitymeasures may also be implemented which include use of digital camera 460in PCD 120 to transmit an image of the user to server 105 forverification purposes. It will be appreciated that fingerprint images,retinal or iris scans may similarly be used.

In an alternative embodiment, for security reasons, server 105 maintainsa POS database which provides the GPS coordinates identifying thelocation of each POS terminal, including terminal 710. Thus, inconducting the above purchase, processor 107 in server 105 may alsorequest PCD 120 to provide the GPS coordinates identifying the currentlocation of PCD 120. Such GPS coordinates are then provided by theaforementioned GPS device in PCD 120. Based on the above-describedtransaction ID number which in part identifies POS terminal 710,processor 107 searches the POS database for the GPS coordinates ofterminal 710. Processor 107 then determines the distance between PCD 120and POS terminal 710. If such a distance exceeds a predetermined amount,processor 107 immediately terminates the processing of the transaction,assuming that the user conducts the purchase at the POS location andthus should not be away from POS terminal 710 for more than thepredetermined distance.

Still other security measures may be instituted using the Internetprotocol (IP) address of server 105. In that case, payment authoritysystem 700 may evaluate the IP address of server 105 transmitting thepayment request and would not authorize payment if the request does notcome from the IP address of server 105 associated with the user. Theuser's digital signature in Signature record 550 may be used in asimilar manner. The digital signature may be authenticated based on theIP address of server 105 forwarding the digital signature. Thisauthentication is advantageous as a digital signature that did not comefrom the IP address of a server associated with the user would not bindthe user to the terms of a contract or sale.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, server 105 alsoincorporates the GPS coordinates of POS terminal 710 in the purchaseconfirmation and denial records. Alternatively, the GPS coordinates ofPOS terminal 710 is translated to an actual location (e.g., the address)of the premises on which the purchase is conducted, and the actuallocation is made part of the purchase confirmation or denial record.Such translation may be achieved using a well known GPS database inserver 105 or in another server to which server 105 has access. Thus, inthis embodiment, when the user uses PCD 120 to poll server 105 forpurchase confirmation records stored in server 105, server 105 returnsto PCD 120 a PURCHASE CONFIRMATION RECORDS screen on display 410, whichis illustrated in FIG. 17B. At this screen, the user is afforded optionsto review selected purchase confirmation records. For example, the usermay specify at option 1725 the number of most recent records to review,thereby providing just-in-time information on the user's purchases. Inthis example, however, the user is interested in reviewing the recordswithin a particular period. Thus, the user in this instance enters thestart date of the period at option 1732 and the end date thereof atoption 1735. As a result, the purchase confirmation records within thespecified period are displayed in chronological order. For example,record 1741 is the first record on the start date, and record 1743 isthe last record on the end date. Each record contains multiple fields.For example, record 1743 contains date field 1751 identifying the dateof the purchase confirmation, merchant name and address field 1753identifying the merchant and its address, purchase type field 1755identifying the type of purchase, and transaction amount field 1757identifying the transaction amount. In addition, at the end of the listof records, TOTAL field 1761 indicates the sum of the transactionamounts in the listed records. Advantageously, with the information infield 1761, the user can continually keep track of the expensesresulting from purchases.

FIG. 18 illustrates a functional schematic of PCD 120 when “docked” orconnected to an automobile system to enhance its functionality. Such aconnection may alternatively be a remote connection between PCD 120 andthe automobile system relying on wireless or Bluetooth communications,for example. One such automobile system is described, e.g., in U.S. Pat.No. 6,009,355 (“the '355 patent”) issued Dec. 28, 1999 to Obradovich etal., which is hereby incorporated by reference. As shown in FIG. 18,this functional schematic is divided into three levels. First level 802includes processing of information items that are of importance to theuser in real-time or near-real-time. For example, the first levelfunctions include emergency function 805, System Settings function 810,Clock function 815, GPS function 820, Help function 825 (as activated byHelp key 430), Volume control 830, Repeat operation 835 (as activated byRepeat key 445), Voice on/off 840 (as activated by Voice key 440),Application Bar 845 and Menu function 850 which require real-time ornear-real-time operation.

Second level 860 includes processing of information items which are ofsecondary importance to the user which, e.g., relates to operation ofaccessories. For example, the second level functions, which are managedby Application Bar 845 and Menu function 850, include Vehicle Settingsfunction 865 comprising, e.g., window control, seat position control,mirror adjustment, etc., Audio/Video Player function 870, E-card Viewer875, E-mail Viewer 880, Xyellowpages function 885, interfaces withMobile Devices 890, Quick Tips function 895, Navigation function 900,Phone function 905 and Climate Control function 910. Third level 920includes user interface functions such as Keyboard commands 925 andCancel commands 930.

FIG. 19 illustrates a second embodiment of display screen 410 of PCD 120which is particularly advantageous when PCD 120 is connected to theaforementioned automobile system. In this embodiment, screen 410provides display area 940, programmable displayed icon segment 950, anddisplayed icons including Help 430, Emergency 435, Voice on/off 440 andRepeat 445 which are described before. Display area 940 may also be usedto input information items into PCD 120. Display area 940 operates toallow menu-driven or screen sensitive (touch-screen) input.

Segment 950 includes a sliding window accommodating programmabledisplayed icons which may be created by the user. Illustrated throughthe sliding window in this instance are selectable icons for anavigation function, phone function and climate control function.Additional icons may be brought into view in the window by touchingRight-Shift key 955 or Left-Shift key 960. In addition, signal strengthbars 980 on screen 410 indicate the strength of the received wirelesscommunication signal. Navigation icon 985, an alternative to that insegment 950, is also displayed for selection of the navigation function.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a mobile device,e.g., a PCD, may be used to access a vehicle by a temporary driver whowants to borrow the vehicle from a friend or a car rental company for alimited time period. For example, the temporary driver when renting avehicle may use PCD 130 to communicate in a wireless manner with aremote car rental agent using PCD 120. The temporary driver specifiesthe desired size and model of the rental vehicle, the rental period andother preferences through PCD 130 via text and/or voice media. Based onsuch information, the agent finds an available vehicle satisfying thedesired specifications in a database in a host computer which isadministered and maintained by the car rental company and to which PCD120 is docked or connected. The agent then invokes a Vehicle Access pagein the form of an E-card on PCD 120 concerning the available vehicle.

FIG. 20 illustrates such a Vehicle Access E-Card, denoted 2001, wherethe available vehicle is identified by a vehicle identification number(VIN) 2003. Based on the information provided by the temporary driver,the agent enters the requested Start Date (denoted 2005) and End Date(denoted 2007) of the rental period, and the Mileage Limit (denoted2009) during the rental period, e.g., 500 miles in this instance. Inaddition, the agent may also enter Geographic Limit (denoted 2011)within which the vehicle is allowed to travel. In this instance, theagent enters CA. That is, the vehicle is not allowed to travel beyondthe borders of the state of California. To that end, the host computerprovides the GPS coordinates defining the California state and such GPScoordinate information is incorporated in E-Card 2001. Given thetemporary driver's preferences, options which are available in thesubject vehicle may accordingly be selected. The car rental company maycharge a fee in addition to the basic rental fee for each of suchoptions to be selected. Thus, for example, depending how much thetemporary driver wants to spend, the agent at option 2013 may grant thedriver limited or full access to the audiovisual entertainment unitsavailable in the subject vehicle. In this instance, the temporary driveris granted full access to such entertainment units. Otherwise, iflimited access is granted, the agent has to further specify thoseentertainment units to which the driver can have access. For example,the driver may be afforded access to a CD player, TV or game unit,besides a radio. Similarly, the driver may or may not be granted accessto the phone or navigation capabilities also available in the subjectvehicle.

It should be noted that the above options are for illustrative purposes.Other options may include a weight limit option whereby the agent mayspecify the limit of additional weight to be put on the subject vehicle,thereby limiting the number of passengers and/or amount of cargo thatthe temporary driver can transport in the vehicle. The amount of theadditional fee may vary with the weight limit value. Of course, wherethe weight limit is an option, the automobile system in the subjectvehicle, similar to that described in the aforementioned '355 patent,would be capable of sensing the vehicle weight and determining theincrease in the weight during the rental period. In the event that theweight increase exceeds the weight limit, the automobile system causesdisablement of the vehicle, e.g., a cutoff of the gasoline supply in thevehicle. Still other options may include whether the driver can haveInternet access, or access to the vehicle's engine compartment, glovecompartment, trunk, etc.

After the car rental agent provides the above rental information ontoE-card 2001, the aforementioned host computer generates an access codefor the driver to identify himself/herself when the driver picks up thevehicle. Such an access code is also incorporated in E-card 2001 forlater verification which, in particular, is incorporated in a header ofE-card 2001. Also incorporated in the header is an E-cardidentification, indicating that E-card 2001 is a vehicle access E-card.The host computer transmits all of the E-card information to theautomobile system in the subject vehicle via a wireless communicationsconnection, and the automobile system is accordingly programmed based onthe received information.

The agent then communicates via text or voice media to the driver theaccess code; and the description and location of the vehicle to bepicked up. Preferably, the driver records the access code and thevehicle description and location information somewhere other than PCD130 in the event that the driver should lose PCD 130, and anunauthorized driver may then be able to gain access to the subjectvehicle using the recorded information.

For security reasons, in this particular illustrative embodiment, all ofthe information on E-card 2001, except the aforementioned E-cardidentification, is encrypted using a private key stored in the hostcomputer, in accordance with a well known cryptographic methodology. Onesuch cryptographic methodology is the RSA methodology, named after itsdevelopers, Rivest, Shamir and Adleman. For details on the RSAmethodology, one may refer to: R. Rivest et al., “A Method for ObtainingDigital Signatures and Public Key Cryptosystems,” Communications of theACM, Vol. 21, No. 2, February 1978. The RSA methodology involves apublic key algorithm which uses a private key and a public key for dataencryption. Unlike a private key which is securely protected from thepublic, a public key can be published and made known to the public. Thekeys for the RSA algorithm are generated mathematically, and arecomputational inverses to each other. The success of the RSA methodologydepends on the use of very large numbers for the keys.

In an alternative embodiment, the E-card information may becryptographically signed, creating a digital signature forauthenticating the E-card information.

It will be appreciated that a person skilled in the art may utilizeother feasible cryptographic methodology, e.g., the digital encryptionstandard (DES), Triple-DES, Diffie-Helhman or pretty good privacy (PGP)methodology to achieve the above data encryption or authentication,instead.

It suffices to know for now that the public key corresponding to theaforementioned private key is stored in the automobile system in thesubject vehicle. Continuing the above example, the car rental agentcauses transmission of the encrypted E-card information, along with theE-card identification, from PCD 120 to PCD 130. The latter stores thereceived information in a Vehicle Access record therein.

When the temporary driver locates and picks up the subject vehicle, thedriver may use PCD 130 to transmit the Vehicle Access record therein tothe automobile system of the subject vehicle through wireless orBluetooth communications. Upon receiving the Vehicle Access record, theautomobile system recognizes that the record concerns access to thesubject vehicle based on the E-card identification information in therecord, as indicated at step 2101 in FIG. 21. In response, theautomobile system at step 2104 decrypts the encrypted E-card informationin the record using the public key stored in the automobile system, inaccordance with the aforementioned cryptographic methodology. Theautomobile system is then in possession of the plaintext informationconcerning E-card 2001, which includes the access code previouslyassigned to the temporary driver. The automobile system at step 2107elicits from the temporary driver the corresponding access code toensure that he/she is an authorized driver. After the drivercommunicates the access code, previously received from the car rentalagent, to the automobile system using PCD 130, the automobile system atstep 2109 determines whether such an access code from the driver matchesthe access code within the E-card information. If they do not match, thedriver is denied access, as indicated at step 2112. Otherwise, if theymatch, the automobile system at step 2114 verifies that the currentpick-up date is within the rental period, i.e., between the start dateand end date on E-card 2001. At step 2117, the automobile systemenforces the mileage limit, geographic limit and time limit, andactivates audiovisual, phone and navigation options specified on E-card2001. In particular, the mileage limit is enforced with the aid of anodometer in the vehicle which provides a mileage reading to theautomobile system. When the mileage consumed by the driver approachesthe mileage limit, warnings may be given by the automobile system to thedriver at different stages, e.g., at 50 miles before the limit, 20 milesbefore the limit, and 10 miles before the limit. The warnings may becommunicated to the driver via text or voice media through a userinterface in the automobile system which includes a display and audiofacilities. Each warning indicates how many miles left before the limit,and includes information for contacting a car rental agent to extend themileage limit. In another embodiment, the automobile system stores in amemory telephone numbers of car rental agents. At the last warning, theautomobile system initiates a call to one of the agents through itsphone interface. The contacted agent can then communicate with thedriver to discuss any extension of the mileage limit. In yet anotherembodiment, the automobile system stores in the memory an access numberof the aforementioned car rental company host computer. At the lastwarning, the automobile system establishes a communication connectionwith the host computer using the access number. The driver may thenutilize the user interface to communicate on-line with the host computerregarding any extension of the mileage limit. Otherwise, if no mileagelimit is extended despite the warnings, as soon as the automobile systemdetects any excessive mileage consumed by the driver, it would causedisablement of the vehicle.

Similarly, the geographic limit is enforced with the aid of a GPS devicein the vehicle which provides the GPS coordinates identifying thecurrent vehicle position to the automobile system. Successive warningsare given to the driver as the vehicle approaches the borders of thegeographic area (e.g., California in this instance) defined by the GPScoordinates within the E-card information. If the driver ignores suchwarnings and does not extend the geographic limit, as soon as theautomobile system detects that the current vehicle position is outsidethe geographic limit, it causes disablement of the vehicle. Moreover,the time limit is enforced with the aid of a clock in the vehicle whichprovides time information to the automobile system. Successive warningsare given to the driver as the current time approaches the end of therental period. If the driver ignores such warnings, and does not extendthe rental period, as soon as the automobile system detects that therental period is over, it causes disablement of the vehicle.

The automobile system at step 2119 unlocks the doors of the subjectvehicle to allow access thereto by the temporary driver. However, theautomobile system may provide, through its display, to the driver anaccess key code for subsequent re-entry to the vehicle. Alternatively,the access key code may be communicated by the automobile systemdirectly to the driver's PCD 130. The driver may then use PCD 130 totransmit the access key code to the automobile system to re-enter thevehicle. For the security reasons, the access key code may be changedfrom time to time. To that end, the automobile system incorporates a keycode generator for generating access key codes in a random orpseudo-random fashion. As soon as the driver produces a valid access keycode to re-enter the vehicle, the automobile system operates the keycode generator to provide the driver with a different access key codefor subsequent re-entry.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the temporarydriver may also be provided with an electronic car-mail feature providedby the automobile system in the subject vehicle to receive his/here-mail and other messages. Again, the car rental company may charge forthis feature as part of the car rental fee. In order to fully appreciatethe car-mail feature, the concept of car-mail will now be described.

Like a conventional e-mail message, a car-mail message is formatted inaccordance with well known protocols, e.g., the well known mail transferprotocol and transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP),and it may be delivered by conventional mail servers via acommunications network such as the Internet. However, unlike e-mailwhose address identifies a person for personal communications, thecar-mail has an address identifying the vehicle itself. As the car-mailaddress appertains to, or specifically associated with, the vehicle,rather than a person, e.g., the temporary driver, communications withthe vehicle using car-mail is intact, regardless of who the actualvehicle user is.

A typical e-mail address is in the format of <user-id>@<domain>, e.g.,“jsmith@aol.com”. As is well known, the <user-id> part before the “@”sign, e.g., “jsmith”, identifies the e-mail user, e.g., Joe Smith. The<domain> part after the “@” sign, e.g., “aol.com”, identifies the accessmail server, e.g., an American Online server connected to the Internet,providing the e-mail service for Joe Smith in this instance. However, acar-mail address is in the format of <vehicle-id>@<domain>. In thisinstance, the <vehicle-id> part identifies the subject vehicle which isassigned by the aforementioned car rental company host computer. The<domain> part may represent a predetermined access mail server connectedto the Internet for serving the car-mail needs of vehicles. Forillustrative purposes, the <domain> part may be “vehicle.com” in thisexample.

The assigned car-mail address is communicated by the host computer tothe automobile system in the vehicle and is stored in a memory in theautomobile system. The car-mail address remains unchanged during thevehicle rental period. The automobile system includes car-mailcommunications subsystem 2203 in FIG. 22. Subsystem 2203 furtherincludes transceiver 2205, modem 2209, and car-mail processor and memory2211. Transceiver 2205 includes, e.g., a wireless phone in the subjectvehicle, for transmitting and receiving information via wireless network2213, e.g., the well known advanced mobile phone service (AMPS) network,digital AMPS network, personal communications service (PCS) network,global system for mobile communications (GSM) network, paging network,hybrid personal communications network (HPCN), satellite network,microwave network, milliwave network, etc. Modem 2209 is used formodulating and demodulating carriers carrying car-mail data to and fromdata channels, e.g., cellular digital packet data (CDPD) channels, inwireless network 2213. To that end, processor and memory 2211 is used tocompose and present car-mail messages in the subject vehicle through auser interface in the automobile system. For transmitting and receivingcar-mail messages, transceiver 2205 establishes a dial-up connectionthrough wireless network 2213 to predetermined access server 2222 which,among others, serve car-mail on Internet 170. It should be noted at thispoint that server 2222 may not be the only one access server on theInternet serving car-mail. It will be appreciated that more accessservers similar to server 2222 are geographically distributed foreffective communications of car-mail.

Continuing the above example, after the car rental company host computerassigns the car-mail address for use in the subject vehicle during therental period, the car rental agent uses PCD 120 to communicate via textor voice media to the temporary driver the assigned car-mail address,along with other information described before. With this car-mailaddress, the car rental company can continually communicate informationin the form of car-mail with the vehicle, as opposed to a particularperson as in prior art where a personal e-mail is used. Such informationmay concern vehicle conditions and driving safety tips, and may includethe aforementioned warnings, advisories and emergency informationdirected not only to the temporary driver, but also to any other users,e.g., passengers, of the vehicle. In addition, the temporary driver andother vehicle users may use the car-mail address as a conventionale-mail address and give it out to people who want to communicate withthem during the rental period.

In the case where the temporary driver uses server 105 to collect andsort his/her e-mail messages in a manner described before, the temporarydriver may use PCD 130 to communicate to server 105 the forwardingcar-mail address such that any e-mail messages directed to him/herduring the rental period can be seamlessly forwarded to the automobilesystem for his/her review and response.

The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention. Itwill thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able todevise numerous other systems which embody the principles of theinvention and are thus within its spirit and scope.

For example, although server 105 and PCD 120, as disclosed, are embodiedin the form of various discrete functional blocks, each of the serverand PCD could equally well be embodied in an arrangement in which thefunctions of any one or more of those blocks or indeed, all of thefunctions thereof, are realized, for example, by one or moreappropriately programmed processors or devices.

We claim:
 1. A method for use in a server serving a user of acommunication device, the method comprising: maintaining a plurality ofprofiles of the user; receiving, through a communications network, arequest for information concerning one or more product or serviceproviders, and data indicative of a selected one of the profiles and alocation of the communication device determined by the communicationdevice; collecting requested information from one or more sources basedon the received data; providing the requested information to thecommunication device, the requested information including informationconcerning at least a first product or service provider in accordancewith the selected profile, wherein the first product or service providerand at least a second product or service provider are selected in avicinity of the location of the communication device; and providing datafor the communication device to indicate to the user that the firstproduct or service provider satisfies the selected profile and thesecond product or service provider does not satisfy the selectedprofile.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the profiles include apersonal profile.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the personal profileincludes a medical record, at least part of the collected informationcomprising personal medical information being stored in the medicalrecord.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the profiles include a businessprofile.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the profiles include avacation profile.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or moresources are connected to the Internet.
 7. The method of claim 1 whereinone of the profiles includes a financial record, at least part of thecollected information comprising financial information being stored inthe financial record.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the collectedinformation is stored for the user as a function of a geographiclocation.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the collected information isstored for the user based on one or more types of product or serviceprovided at least by the first product or service provider.
 10. Themethod of claim 9 wherein one of the types of product or serviceconcerns entertainment.
 11. The method of claim 9 wherein one of thetypes of product or service concerns restaurants.
 12. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the location of the communication device is indicated byGPS data.
 13. A system for serving a user of a communication device, thesystem comprising: storage for maintaining a plurality of profiles ofthe user; an interface for receiving, through a communications network,a request for information concerning one or more product or serviceproviders, and data indicative of a selected one of the profiles and alocation of the communication device determined by the communicationdevice; a processing unit configured to collect requested informationfrom one or more sources based on the received data; and an outputelement for providing the requested information to the communicationdevice, the requested information including information concerning atleast a first product or service provider in accordance with theselected profile, wherein the first product or service provider and atleast a second product or service provider are selected in a vicinity ofthe location of the communication device, the output element beingconfigured to provide data for the communication device to indicate tothe user that the first product or service provider satisfies theselected profile and the second product or service provider does notsatisfy the selected profile.
 14. The system of claim 13 wherein theprofiles include a personal profile.
 15. The system of claim 14 whereinthe personal profile includes a medical record, at least part of thecollected information comprising personal medical information beingstored in the medical record.
 16. The system of claim 13 wherein theprofiles include a business profile.
 17. The system of claim 13 whereinthe profiles include a vacation profile.
 18. The system of claim 13wherein the one or more sources are connected to the Internet.
 19. Thesystem of claim 13 wherein one of the profiles includes a financialrecord, at least part of the collected information comprising financialinformation being stored in the financial record.
 20. The system ofclaim 13 wherein the collected information is stored for the user as afunction of a geographic location.
 21. The system of claim 13 whereinthe collected information is stored for the user based on one or moretypes of product or service provided at least by the first product orservice provider.
 22. The system of claim 21 wherein one of the types ofproduct or service concerns entertainment.
 23. The system of claim 21wherein one of the types of product or service concerns restaurants. 24.The system of claim 13 wherein the location of the communication deviceis indicated by GPS data.